Cask for drawing off liquids under the effect of pressure

ABSTRACT

A keg is formed from (A) a shaped jacket or liner forming a container, obtained from at least two nonsymmetrical parts ( 1   a   , 1   b ) welded together, one of the parts containing an opening provided with a neck, and (B) a filling/tapping device ( 3 ) positioned in the neck of the opening. The part of the container with the filling/tapping opening contains a riser or peripheral skirt ( 13 ) having a height at least equal to that of the outer part of said filling/tapping device and, optionally, sufficient to contain at least one cut-out forming a handle, and while the neck of the opening contains a part ( 9 ) extending inside the lumen of the jacket and having a limited diameter at its end ( 10 ), so as to permit passage and maintenance of the tapping device ( 3 ), and containing at least one other opening ( 11 ), advantageously on the periphery of said opening for passage and maintenance of the tapping device.

This application is a 371 national phase of PCT Application No.PCT/FR/01/03484 filed Nov. 9, 2001.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The invention concerns the transportation, storage and supply ofbeverages, notably carbonated beverages such as beer and the like, tosoft drink manufacturers and/or to the consumer. It concerns, inparticular, a container, also referred to below as “keg,” fortransporting, storing and drawing off beverages under the effect ofpressure.

The invention thus especially concerns a keg for one-time use or adisposable keg and, in particular, a disposable keg for liquids underpressure, notably for beer.

To simplify matters, the invention will be described below withreference to a beer keg, but it is clear that this use in no way limitsthe scope and range of the invention. The invention more generallyapplies, in fact, to any liquid intended to be tapped from a keg, whichtapping can then be carried out under the own pressure of the liquidcontained in the keg and/or under the pressure of a gas introduced inthe latter on the tapping operation, as, for example, in racking winewith nitrogen under pressure.

Patent FR-A 2,719,285 describes a container for fluid under internalpressure, consisting of the combination of a chamber for the fluid, anouter jacket defining a space with said chamber and a layer of amaterial filling said space. According to working variants of thatproduct, the outer jacket and the material filling said space can bemade of the same material and have a structure cast in one piece.Tapping of the liquid in that container can be carried out in thetraditional matter by means of a plunger tube of known type, whichcontains the openings necessary for entry of the tapping gas, while theliquid drawn off is extracted through the plunger tube of said pipe.

According to patent EP-A 0,162,117, containers are known which areutilized as washable and reusable beer kegs, consisting of two halvesformed by injection molding and welded together along a line forming amedian peripheral line of the keg thus formed. The keg in questioncontains a plunging collar which constitutes a tapping pipe head supportand which either forms one and the same piece with the upper part of thekeg, and, in that case, all of the pipe head pieces must be forciblymounted at the top, with the risk of deformation and loss of tightness,or is a piece attached and glued or welded, and in that case, the pipehead assembly must be mounted from the inside, before welding of thesecond half of the keg to the first half.

As for patent FR-A 2,776,637, it describes a container for one-time usewith tapping pipe, in which the chamber for the fluid and the fillingand/or tapping device present a monolithic structure. The pipe is notheld inside the container. It is tightly joined to the neck of thecontainer by fastening on the latter as soon as it is hot-stripped andunder the effect of the shrinkage that said neck undergoes on cooling.

A need therefore existed for a container useful notably as a beer keg,having a simple structure in order to make it possible to lower itsproduction cost and containing means for filling and/or tapping itscontents. A need further existed for such a beer keg which could be adisposable keg, that is, non-reusable and the materials of which could,however, be recycled. It has now been found that these objectives can beaccomplished, together with others which will become more apparent fromthe description that follows, thanks to a container for fluid,preferably for liquid under pressure, constituting a keg made ofthermoplastic material and shaped preferably by injection molding,containing within its space an arrangement of means capable of makingpossible filling with a fluid, preservation and transportation of saidcontainer, as well as tapping of the fluid by pressurization of theinterior volume of said container.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The keg according to the invention comprises:

(A) a shaped jacket (or liner) forming a container, obtained from atleast two nonsymmetrical parts welded together, preferably formed byinjection molding of a thermoplastic material, one of said partscontaining an opening provided with a neck, and

(B) a filling/tapping device positioned in the neck of said opening,while the part of the container with the filling/tapping openingcontains a riser or peripheral skirt having a height at least equal tothat of the outer part of said filling/tapping device and, as an option,sufficient to be able to contain a cut-out forming a handle, and

while the said neck of said opening contains a part extending inside thespace of said jacket and having a limited diameter at its end, so as topermit passage and maintenance of the tapping device, and containing atleast one other opening, advantageously on the periphery of said openingfor passage and maintenance of the tapping device.

From a first aspect, the invention thus involves a container for thetransportation, storage and supply of liquids, notably, carbonatedand/or fermented beverages such as beer, said container having a jacketand at least two parts, such as defined above and at least one of whichparts contains an opening and, as an option, a filling/tapping deviceintegrated fixedly or removably with the neck of said opening.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is described below more in detail, with reference to theattached drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 represents a longitudinal schematic section of a containeraccording to the invention;

FIG. 2 represents a longitudinal schematic section of a variant of thecontainer according to the invention;

FIG. 3 represents a longitudinal schematic section of a variantembodiment of the container according to FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 represents a longitudinal schematic section of a variantembodiment of the container according to FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 represents a partial longitudinal schematic section of anothervariant of the container according to the invention; and

FIG. 6 represents a longitudinal schematic section of another variantembodiment of the container according to FIG. 2.

FIG. 7 shows the method of the invention.

In the figures, the same reference numbers are used for identical orpractically similar pieces, at least from the functional standpoint.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A container 1 according to this invention is, first of all, describedbelow in general with reference to FIG. 1 of the attached drawings,where the container 1 is composed of a jacket or liner preferably ofthermoplastic material. It is recommended that this material be ofalimentary quality. Otherwise or in addition, said jacket can be linedwith substances capable of affording it the alimentary characteristicsrequired.

The material of the jacket is advantageously compact enough for thegases to be unable, or practically unable, to migrate across it.Furthermore, it is preferable for that material to be opaque to visiblelight and/or to UV radiation, so that it can serve as a UV barrier, whenthat is necessary or sought.

By way of non-limiting example, one can mention as suitable materialsfor said jacket the thermoplastic polymers chosen in the groupconsisting of thermoplastic materials like high-density polyethylene(HDPE), polypropylene (PP), polyvinyl chloride (PVC) andpolyacrylontrile/butadiene/styrene (ABS).

In one embodiment, the keg or container 1 according to the invention canfurther contain an outer covering to improve tightness, notably gastightness. It has, in fact, been found that, under certain extremeconditions, the materials of those products could present a degree ofporosity. Without wanting to be bound by any theory, one might thinkthat the air at atmospheric pressure (ordinarily containing nitrogen,oxygen, carbon dioxide, water vapor, argon, rare gases and microscopicdust in suspension) can cross the thickness of the container fromoutside to inside and encounter under that pressure other gaseouscomponents, which were created on use of the container or of itsconstituent materials and might have been maintained there. The outerthrust thus exerted tends to carry along those secondary components ofthe container material with the air and the components of the latterindicated above. This can result in one or more chemical reactions, theproducts of which can impart an odor inside the container 1.

In one embodiment of the invention, it is arranged to treat thatphenomenon by creating an outer barrier around the container 1,advantageously by projection or thermal spraying of metal dust over allor part of the outer faces of the container 1, so as to coat them with acovering of thickness and density sufficient to create effectivetightness against the effects of the atmospheric pressure indicatedabove. With that covering, the formation and development of parasiteodors in the container 1 are thus avoided, annihilating what is calledthe “Dalton effect” in plastics technology.

The expert is capable of defining the most advantageous parameters forthat metal plating and, notably, the choice of metal, its physical formand the thickness and density of the covering, as well as the method andtemperature of application, undertaking routine tests, if necessary. Twopreferred forms for said jacket are represented in longitudinal sectionon FIGS. 1–5 and 6, respectively.

It is advantageous to make the jacket intended to form the container 1by injection molding or by any equivalent means. The essential thing isfor the jacket thus produced to have sufficiently constant andcontinuous dimensional characteristics, so that welding of the two partsof the jacket and fitting of the accessories, notably of the tappingand/or plugging devices, will be carried out easily.

In the embodiment represented in FIGS. 1–5, the jacket comprises twoparts 1 a and 1 b complementing each other and intended to be welded orjoined in any other appropriate manner in order to form a container 1.

The two jacket parts 1 a and 1 b are joined preferably by a weld seam 2or by any other equivalent means. Thus, the pieces 1 a and 1 b, whichare injected separately, are joined together along an appropriatecontact surface or welding surface 2.

The wall thickness of the jacket can be constant or variable. The expertis able, by means of preliminary tests, to examine and determine case bycase the thicknesses and possible variation of thickness mostappropriate for an optimal result. According to one preferredembodiment, that thickness is constant over the set of parts 1 a and 1 bof the container 1, except on two peripheral areas where it isreinforced, so as to define external beads, which can serve as rollingbands, when the keg is turned 90° in order to be rolled on the ground.Those reinforcing bands are then spaced and positioned symmetrically inrelation to the center of gravity of the keg. It is further advantageousfor one of those reinforcing and/or rolling bands to coincide with thearea containing the welding surface of one of parts 1 a or 1 b, so asalso to accentuate the width of said band for welding parts 1 a and 1 btogether.

As a variant, the container 1 could be composed of more than two partsjoined together by welding or any equivalent means. However, it iseconomically preferable to limit the number of jacket parts joined bywelding to two.

In one embodiment, the neck of the opening of the container 1 accordingto the invention can consist of a separate piece, then fastened byappropriate means, such as welding or the like, on part 1 a of thecontainer. Said part 1 a must then have an adequate geometry anddimensions. The container 1 constitutes an essential part of the keg,which still needs to contain, in order to be rendered operational, aplunger tube 3, also called filling/tapping pipe.

In the container according to the invention, as represented in FIGS. 1–5by way of example, the plunger tube 3 is further equipped with a head 4,18 and, in immediate proximity thereto, a peripheral gasket 5, as wellas at least one spring 6 and a support piece 7 having the function ofcompressing the return spring and/or alternately blocking and freeingdischarge openings for the liquid in the container 1 by control of theuser.

The plunger tube 3, intended to permit tapping of the liquid in thecontainer 1, has an opening at its end plunging to the bottom of thecontainer 1 and at least one preferably lateral opening at the top atthe level of the above-mentioned gasket 5.

In the embodiments according to FIGS. 1, 2 and 5, the container 1 has aplunger tube 3 with nondetachable head 4, fastened, for example, by aweld seam 8.

In the embodiments according to FIGS. 3, 4 and 5, the container 1 has aplunger tube 3 equipped with a screwable head 4, 18, in which case theupper part of the neck of the opening of the container 1 must have athread (not represented) corresponding to that of said head.

In the embodiment according to FIG. 5, the container has a plunger tube3 such as the one used in the fluid container according to patent WO95/31671.

A plunger tube 3 with flat head 4 is represented in FIGS. 1 and 3, whilethe plunger tube, with which the containers according to FIGS. 2, 4, 5and 6 are equipped, is of the type with hollow head 18. Those types ofheads of the plunger tube or tapping pipe are known to the expert.

In that embodiment of the plunger tube, the latter contains a flange 12intended to bear on the bottom of the housing defined by the innerportion of the neck of the container 1 and the re-entrant part of saidinner portion.

In the container 1 according to the invention, the inner part 9 of theneck of the opening advantageously contains, at or near its inner end, are-entrant part defining a bottom 10, equipped with a center opening ofdimension sufficient to allow the plunger tube 3 to pass with justenough clearance to permit their reciprocal displacement by translation.The bottom 10 of the re-entrant part of the neck of the container 1 hasat least one opening 11, the essential function of which is to allowpassage of the liquid on filling and of the gases on tapping of saidliquid. Said openings 11 can be of any shape, such as round or oval.

In one embodiment represented in FIGS. 1 and 3, the plunger tube 3 bearson the bottom of the neck of the opening of the container 1 by means ofa flange 12.

The above-mentioned gasket 5 is of suitable shape to ensure tightness ofthe keg and also to permit tapping by means of a tapping valve ofsuitable known type, in practice a tapping valve specially designed forthat service. The spring 6 keeps the gasket 5 in place.

The upper peripheral part of the keg, when the latter is placed on itsbottom, contains a portion 13 called upper skirt, in which it isadvantageous for cut-outs to be provided, of size sufficient for theportion of the skirt situated above them to form a handle 14, in orderto facilitate handling of the keg.

In one advantageous embodiment, the part forming the bottom of thecontainer also defines a peripheral skirt 15, which can be provided ornot with cut-outs facilitating handling. The low peripheral skirt 15preferably ends in offsets 16 homothetic with offsets 17 provided in theterminal portion of the upper skirt 13, which makes it possible to placethe keg according to the invention in vertical position and to pile orstack at least two kegs on top of each other. In the embodiments such asrepresented in FIGS. 3 to 5, according to which the plunger tube ismounted by screwing on the neck of the container 1, preferably with atleast one gasket 19, it is particularly advantageous to provide at leastone vent 20 in the area of threading of the neck of the opening of thecontainer 1 and/or in the area of threading of the head 4, in order topermit depressurization of the contents of the keg from the start ofdisconnection of the plunger and thus avoid the ejection of said headunder the effect of overpressure.

The variants of the keg according to the invention represented in FIGS.1, 2 and 6 each contain a nondetachable welded plunger tube.

Thus, according to the invention, the plunger tube 3 can advantageouslybe specific to the container 1 and be made in the same way as thecontainer 1.

The embodiments of the keg according to the invention, represented inFIGS. 1 and 3, contain a plunger tube with so-called flat head, whilethose of FIGS. 2, 4, 5 and 6 contain a plunger tube with so-calledhollow head.

In order to make a keg according to the invention, the following stagesare undertaken as outlined in FIG. 7:

parts 1 a and 1 b of the container are injection-molded, as is, byoption, a head 4, 18 appropriate to the type of plunger tube envisaged,

the above-mentioned parts 1 a and 1 b are welded together,

the pieces consisting of a plunger tube 3, a peripheral gasket 5, aspring 6 and a bearing piece 7 are mounted on the neck of part 1 a, and

a head 4, 18 is welded or is screwed on the external portion of the neckof the opening of the container 1.

Such fabrication of the container by injection molding and weldingand/or screwing of the pieces guarantees perfect geometry and gooddistribution of the resistance to pressure of the finished keg.

The outer shapes that can thus be easily obtained have the advantage ofmaking it possible to treat the kegs on the same filling lines as thosein operation at present for stainless steel kegs.

The keg according to the invention has the considerable advantage ofbeing compatible with the existing filling and tapping systems. Inparticular, in cafés, bars and brasseries where kegs are used fordispensing beverages,

there now appear to be two types of tapping valves, which are bothwidely used. They are the so-called “flat head” and “hollow head”valves, which have the types of plunger tube heads referred to above(see FIGS. 1–3 and 2–4–5, respectively). Thus, the different embodimentsof the present invention ensure total compatibility with the existingtapping valves, and the invention provides for at least one embodimentfor each of the systems with which beverage dispensers are at presentequipped.

In addition, as has been described above, with reference to the attacheddrawings, the tapping pipe is advantageously of one of the two typesrespectively illustrated in FIGS. 1–3, on the one hand, and in FIGS.2–4–5–6, on the other.

The pressurization system and the other elements completing the deviceon the tapping site are of standard type, that is, of the type of thoseknown to the expert.

The invention provides, as an additional advantage, for kegs forone-time use, the liquid tapping devices of which can by choice beeither welded or detachable. However, even if the concept of a containerfor one-time use is preferred, the same product could, if desired, berecovered, washed, dried and refilled, but on condition that itcorresponds to the embodiment with detachable plunger tube.

However, as has been shown above, the neck of the container according tothe invention has a particular shape rendering the complete washing anddrying of a recycled container impossible or very tedious and,therefore, ultimately incompatible with the productivity requirementsapplicable to this type of product.

These elements actually afford an undeniable advantage to the productaccording to the invention, for the latter can, in contrast to existingcomparable products, be for one-time use. Such a keg for one-time use,also called “disposable” keg, makes it possible to avoid the costs ofstorage, repair and return of recycled kegs, which is the case with thepresent stainless steel kegs. Instead of being thrown away after use andthus being a cost and environmental pollution factor, a keg according tothe invention can be recycled; that is, after possible separation of theplunger tube, if the materials of the latter have to be treatedseparately, that keg can be ground up after collection and convertedinto reusable material close to the scrapping site.

In the embodiment containing the high and low skirts and the offsetdescribed above, the kegs according to the invention also have theadvantage of being stackable, which is not the case with the presentstainless steel beer kegs, which must be palletized in single rows, thusrequiring greater floor space for storage.

The materials recommended for the kegs according to the invention arecapable of absorbing shocks, which are common on the handling andtransportation of such kegs. They enable the kegs to recover their shapeand their initial dimensions by resiliency, something that cannot beaccomplished with the present stainless steel kegs, which therebyundergo a high rate of loss and risk having their contents diminished.

1. Keg for tapping liquids under the effect of pressure, comprising: (A)a shaped jacket or liner forming a container (1) having an internallumen, obtained from at least two nonsymmetrical parts (1 a, 1 b) weldedtogether, one of said parts containing an opening provided with a neckand a riser or upper peripheral skirt (13) circumferentially surroundingthe neck, said neck having an interior surface receiving afilling/tapping device and an exterior surface which is outside theshaped jacket, and said neck having a vent opening (20) extendingbetween the interior surface and the exterior surface of the neck; (B)the filling/tapping device (3) positioned in the neck of said openingwherein the filling/tapping device comprises a plunger tube equippedwith a screwable head that interacts with the interior surface of theneck to attach the filling/tapping device to the shaped jacket, whereinneither the neck nor the filling/tapping device have a height such thatthey extend beyond the riser or upper peripheral skirt (13), and (C) agasket (19) disposed between the screwable head and the neck, said ventopening (20) in the neck being disposed such that the gasket lies closerto the lumen of the keg when the screwable head is attached to theshaped jacket wherein the neck of said opening contains a part (9)extending inside the lumen and wherein the part (9) an opening at end(10), so as to permit passage and maintenance of the tapping device (3),and having at least one other opening (11) connecting with the lumen. 2.Keg according to claim 1, wherein the keg is formed by injection moldingof a thermoplastic material.
 3. Keg according to claim 1, wherein thejacket or liner is made of a material selected from the group consistingof high-density polyethylene, high-density polypropylene, PVC and ABS.4. Keg according to claim 3, further comprising an outer coating formedby hot metal plating.
 5. Keg according to claim 1, wherein the height ofsaid riser or peripheral skirt (13) is sufficient to be able to containat least one cut-out forming a handle (14).
 6. Keg according to claim 1,wherein the other opening(s) (11) is (are) situated on the periphery ofsaid opening for passage and maintenance of the tapping device (3).